Lys
Lys is a island city located south of the Disputed Lands. It is one of the nine Free Cities of western Essos. It is ruled by a conclave of Magisters. Layout Like many of the other Free Cities, Lys served initially as a port for trade through the empire of Old Valyria, and the functioning of the city still reflects this to this day. Temples to hundreds of gods line the waterfront and the streets, and slaves outnumber freemen three to one. Locations of Particular Note * The Spire of the Alchemists - just east of the centre of the city, a monolith of white stone can be found, and serves as the home of the Alchemists of Lys, famed for their creation of agents such as the Strangler and the Tears of Lys. Nakenno Bahyl, a magister many centuries ago, realised that the alchemists of the city would use their skills to create the substances regardless of the conclave's stance, and instead opted that they should do so openly, to ensure quality, but more importantly, adequate taxation. Whilst other organisations still work within the shadows, it is the Alchemists of Lys that produce the most potent agents that are sold throughout the Known World. The Alchemists of Lys are very secretive in their craft, and are known to take on a new acolyte when one of the elders of their organisation passes. * The Temple of Trade - one of the many temples found within the city, the Temple of Trade has long been a sight of controversy after the death of Lysaro Rogare, son of Lysandro the Magnificent at the hands of an angry mob following a disagreement turned violently sour. The Rogare Family has since shunned the teachings of the temple, and all those who seek to find themselves on the side of one of the most powerful families in Lys echo their actions. * The Temple of R'hllor - Followers of R'hllor are prolific within the Free City of Lys, their worship centred around the pale-orange stone temple found in the north of the city. Similar to Volantis, the temple is guarded by slave-warriors tattooed with the flames of their god. * The Rogare Bank - after the death of Lysandro Rogare, called Lysandro the Magnificent in 133AC, the Rogare Bank began to decline in power, and was soon eclipsed by the Braavosi-based Iron Bank in terms of preference for the wealthy and those in need of wealth of Westeros and Essos alike. While the Bank still persists within the city, it is simply an external office used by the Iron Bank of Braavos, which had purchased the land around it, before finally claiming the diminished bank as a subsidiary of their own. * The Vineyards of Stone - the Free City of Lys is famed for its fine white wines, and the Vineyards of Stone is the name given to the street upon which storerooms and cellars filled with casks and bottles are stored before their transport across the Known World. Each major family of Lys owns half a dozen winecellars upon the Vineyards of Stone, and many minor families vie control of those that remain. * The Goddess' Touch - the most famous pillowhouse in Lys, and arguably the Known World, the Goddess' Touch boldly claims to be capable of serving the tastes of every patron to visit, regardless of any oddities they may desire. Bed-slaves from north of the Wall to Naath, courtesans from as far east as Yi Ti and the Plains of the Jogos Nhai, the Goddess' Touch has them all, and offers a bag full of coin to those who do not find themselves pleased after their attendence. * Orthys Mint - having changed hands on numerous occasions, the Orthys Mint has now returned to its original owners, the descendants of the man responsible for its creation, Ballos Orthys. A modest building, it serves as the primary location for the creation of the coinage of Lys, which bear the native goddess of Lys and are oval in shape. * The Bay of Lys - the waters around which the city of Lys are built are a wonder of their own. Home to a bounty of brightly coloured life from silver-tipped sharks and striped eels to leatherback turtles and azure-shaded octopuses, the Bay not only provides a source of income for the fishermen of the city, but also an attraction for those who wish to marvel at the clear-blue waters and those that populate it. The magister Varidos Nahohr is often seen upon his colossal pleasure barge, moving slowly from one side of the bay to the other, whilst being attended to by an army of servants and pillowslaves. * Canahs - whilst technically not part of Lys itself, Canahs is a small fishing village found around ten leagues west of the city. Timeline of Events * 299AC - The Free Cities of Lys and Tyrosh finally come to an agreement that ends the ongoing trade war between them, the discussions led by the Magister Malyrio Haen. * 300AC - Tyrosh invades Myr under the direction of Archon Tycho Mopyr, who had made terms to end the trade war with Lys in exchange for their support in the conquest of the city. The war would rage for the next four years. At the Battle of Pelosse, the Myrish win a resounding victory that stays the hand of the Tyroshi and the Lyseni for a few moons, before, bolstered by a dozen minor sellsword companies, they march once again. * 301AC - The Battle of the Amber Bay is fought in the fifth moon of 301AC, marking the loss of Myrish control over the Sea of Myrth for nearly a year to the joint forces of Tyrosh and Lys. The city is sustained by land, however the city suffers greatly from the loss of trade. * 302AC - Tregar Ormollen is slain by his wife when she poisons his food with the Tears of Lys, citing his ever growing love for Lynesse Hightower before taking the rest of the potent substance herself. Tregar had been a central figure in the financing of sellswords to bolster the Lyseni forces, and in the power struggle between his sons left after his passing, Lys is forced to retract its strength. This leaves Tyrosh to maintain its hold over Myrish lands alone. * 303AC - Seeking to bait the Myrish navy into a trap, the Tyroshi admiral Lysandro Lashare sends his fleet to Pryr. When Vyros Drahar orders the fleet of Myr to ignore the Tyroshi navy and simply attack the city, Lashare commands a strike that crushes the Myrish against the shores of the Tyroshi isle. Knowing it is unlikely that they will be successful without Lyseni support, the Archon of Tyrosh instead takes the victory as an opportunity to demand a peace treaty with Myr in exchange for a cessation in the fighting. In the demands, the city of Pelosse is reinstated to the Tyroshi officially, having long been ruled over by Myr before falling to the armies of Tyrosh two years prior. As part of the treaty, Tyroshi rule is to remain unchallenged in perpetuity, which proves a controversial proclamation. * 313AC - A slave galley, supposedly from the abandoned city of Gogossos arrives at Lys, carrying with it a variation on the Red Death remembers as Crimson Fever. Fortunately, it proves less fatal as its more nocuous counterpart, but still kills one in fifty, mainly those at the extremes of age. The Magisters of Lys attempt to quarantine the disease to the poorer parts of the city, however noble and lowborn alike were affected. Smaller bouts, no doubt transmitted by sailors would appear in the other Free Cities over the next year and a half. * 350AC - The Braavosi attempt to set up a trading colony of Scarwood, in the Stepstones, much to the irritation of the Tyroshi and Lyseni. The Archon at the time, Syrynio Pahyrs, hires the Red Hands to attack the colonists, then denies Tyroshi involvement upon the rage of the Sealord. The Braavosi abandon their efforts in the Stepstones. * 365AC - By the middle of 365AC, Lys and Myr had been engaged in open warfare within the Disputed Lands for over a year, and the conflicts showed no signs of either resolution or recuperation. At the Battle of the Silvertongue and the Bloodying of the Navari, General Tylor Drahar, Captain of the Guild of the Blue and brother to First Magister of Myr, Aerarro Drahar had won two scathing victories against the Lyseni, before losing both his army and his head at the Battle of Achissa - the first of five battles that would be fought around the walled town. On the shores of the Violet Lake at the Battle of the Red Night, Myrish crossbowmen shredded through Lyseni infantry, only to be run down by the sellswords of the Sunbreakers under the command of Captain Valo the Tempest. At the Stand of Autumn Bridge, Myrish spearmen successfully held back ten-fold their number, painting the river Murana with so much blood that it could be seen within the Sea of Myrth as it poured from the estuary. Myrish victories at the Battle of Last Rites and the Skirmish at Yellow Slopes were followed by Lyseni successes at the Duel of Wits and the Battle of Burning Plains, and the conflict raged only only more so. As the year of 365AC drew to a close, the Lyseni held all of the Disputed Lands south of where the Violet Lake feeds into the Murana, controlling near 90% of the territory, and yet envoys arrived at Myr all the same, offering peace deals. * 366AC - The long-anticipated battle between Lys and Volantis was not to be. A vicious storm thundering west from the Smoking Sea forced the Volantene navy to turn back before they had even passed the Orange Shore, and the Magisters of Lys found themselves dealing with an open revolt of their armies, led by the Captain of the City Watch, Revas the Brazen. There are still those within the Perfumed Sister that agree to the concerns of Revas, despite his execution by dismemberment in the harbour during the sixth moon of 366AC. * 374AC - There are still those within the Perfumed Sister that agree to the concerns of Revas the Brazen, despite his execution by dismemberment in the harbour during the sixth moon of 366AC. Chief among the concerns of the Captain of the City Watch were the losses taken within the Disputed Lands during the Ivory War that due to the brash decisions of the Magisters to act in preparation of a threat that never came served little purpose. Among the remaining supporters of Revas there are two factions - those that believe as a result Lys should seek to avoid conflicts in the Disputed Lands in the future, and others still that hold a widely contrasting view in that they should set out to seek out what they had paid for in blood. Category:Lys Category:Free Cities Category:City Category:Essos Category:Island